Hiromix
is a young Japanese photographer born in Tokyo in 1976.
She has already published three photo books: "Girls
Blue" (Rockin' on, inc., 1996), Japanese
Beauty (Magazine House, 1997) and
Hiromix (Steidl Publishers, 1998). Almost a
star in her country, Hiromix (her real name is Toshikawa
Hiromi) has acquired recognition after Nobuyoshi Araki
nominated her as the winner of a photo contest to which
she participated with a 36-page photo book made of color
copies of regular prints. The small book title was
"Seventeen Girl Days" and it belonged to the
tradition of photo diary (a popular genre in Japan as the
story of Araki himself can tell) with the unexpected
vision of a 17 y.o. high school girl into the girl's
everyday life made of pets, records, posters, flowers,
friends, and self portraits.

These random
moments caught in the act of being, remains one of
peculiar features of Hiromix's work. Beside several
activities, Hiromix also writes a diary for an Internet
magazine, she does some advertising and she photographs
musicians for a music magazine named "Rockin' On
Japan".
According to Philibert Ono  director of the
established Website PhotoGuide Japan and one of the few to have
written some words about the work of Hiromix 
Hiromix went through an amazing success in such a short
period of time:

She
has legitimized the photo diary style of photography
which is nothing but a bunch of photos of oneself,
friends, and everyday things. All of a sudden, other
young girls started photographing the ordinary and
mundane things in their lives or their nude bodies. The
penchant for imitation is still alive and well in Japan.
High school girls also got into the act by carrying and
using single-use cameras for capturing whatever captures
their fancy. The photos were just a bunch of snaps that
any person on the street could take.

As I
said, Hiromix photographs are personal snapshots, random
moments caught in the act of being. With the exception of
Japanese Beauty (1997)  where she
shoots fashion models instead of herself, though the
Hiromix style allows her to portray them almost as
friends  the other two books are a collection of
miscellaneous snapshots wherein young girls like herself
and friends are pictured.

Usually there are
no nudes in these books. Though extremely good-looking
and sexy herself Hiromix rarely relies on her body to
attract the viewer, and the combination of mini-skirts,
hot pants, underwear, creates a sort of girlie world
where youth and sex appeal play their role, but they are
not crucial in seducing the viewer. It is more likely
that her photographs are signs of her everyday life,
little thoughts that do not expect to be included in a
larger frame, though I'm sure Hiromix will soon find more
specific themes to develops with her camera.

It is quite
evident by simply giving a look at these three books that
we should consider the genre of the photo diary as a sort
of visual array of sketches that pin down those salient
moments we run though during the course of the day.
It is, somehow, a cinematic technique, with the
difference that her photographs do not build a specific
story. The girlie world, magazines, rock music, fashion,
flowers, the cityscape remains the peculiar features of
Hiromix's work and presents the photo diary style of
photography as the Japanese contribution to our favourite
theoretical mix in the 900: art & life.

Gianni Romano

Cover of the last
book by Hiromix

All images in this
page are courtesy of Patrick Remy, Paris and Steidl
Publishers, Gottingen.